Thank's for having us Victoria, Team Roam enjoyed discovering the Gippsland Lakes, Beautiful sunsets and calm waters … now it's time to head further North.

John, Lois and Andy on ninety mile beach and Roam in the calm evening waters of the Bunga Arm Gippsland Lakes.

Lois taking in the scenery from the nets, as we cruise up the Mitchell river.

Take a look at some of the beautiful scenery of the Gippsland lakes on Andy's Blog

After exploring the Gippsland Lakes and a Visit from John and Lois, (Mick and Andy’s Parents) It was time to head further north. We saw an opportunity in the weather to depart Lakes Entrance on the 17th Of November. John joined Andy and I for the passage North to Moruya, where we stay until Captain Mick returns. We had perfect conditions leaving the Lakes, calm, sunny and warm. It was so calm in fact we managed to practice some yoga on the fore deck. The overnight passage was a little sloppy, with a mix of swell and current against us. Taking 3 hour shifts for night watch I don’t think any of us had a pleasant sleep between the slop, bow slapping and water coming over the deck … but hey boating is not always glassy water and sunsets and that’s what makes it exciting. This was also Andy’s first open water passage on Roam and as first officer ….

Just casually having a yoga session on the deck as we left Lakes and started for Moruya.. Making the most of any opportunity to fit in a good yoga stretch session or CrankIT suspension training.

We made our approach for Moruya Heads the following afternoon on the high tide. Finally we were greeted with a south, south westerly wind which allowed us to sail in on Dave’s Jib. Surfing on the swell and getting up to 14 knots Roam under sail feels pretty amazing…. Check out the latest footage #episode 3 to see our entrance through the heads. The aqua waters, rocky cliffs and sandy beaches were a beautiful sight. After dropping the anchor the clear waters of the Moruya river at high tide, were so inviting especially after a sloppy night, so we all jumped in for a swim. Our chosen anchorage was pretty unique with the airport, the beach, and the town all within 10 minutes tender or bike ride from Roam. The heads also offered a surf break, even for me. The North side of the break wall offered a little bigger break and on the south side some endless softer sets came through, paddle boarders were always out having some fun on the South side.

As always I was eager to explore. I wanted to check out the coast line and the town of Moruya. On our second day, Andy dropped me off ashore with my bike bag. I set her up ( my bike that is ) and set off for a day of exploring. An easy place to get around by bike, with a purpose built bike track most of the way from town all the way out to south Head beach. I explored the impressive rocky cliffs on the south head coast line. With sheer cliff faces towering over pretty, little hidden beaches, rock pools, caves and a blow hole. I took it all in, sitting on the edge of the rock cliff watching the powerful waves crashing in, filling up the caves below, before an explosion of water burst from the blow hole below. Such a cool spot.

The south head beach..

Biking into town in the mid-day heat … summer is here, I was loving the sunshine and the hot bike ride sure made my first ever cold drip coffee from the Moruya Health café a very positive experience. Moruya is a really nice town with some great cafes and THE BEST whole foods store I have yet to come across (the rustic pantry) and lots of high quality local produce. Being a rich agricultural area, the community put on a local farmers market every Tuesday and Saturday market on the river bank we were able to enjoy beautiful fresh fruit, vegetables, sea food and local grass fed beef.

The Rustic pantry was a health nuts heaven, with bulk buy, self scoop of all sorts of goodies. Be sure to check it out if you are visiting Moruya.

Some of the fresh, colorful produce and goodies from the farmers markets and Rustic pantry.

While travelling, I aim to search for great quality fresh food, healthy and affordable cafes, top quality and friendly whole food stores and anything health, fitness related… with my market haul and Rustic pantry stock up I was excited to get creative in the Galley- Roams Kitchen !

Roam made lentil and Vegetable patties , with a fresh salad ,guacamole, pear and walnut relish. My recipe is at the end of this page.

After enjoying a couple of relaxing days in the sun, a surf and helping with the never ending boat jobs it was time for John to fly home… We are so grateful for all John and Lois’s help and being a part of the crew while we were finding our feet.

So it’s back to just Andy and I, well almost… one of the great things about travelling is we get to meet rad people. Making new friends as well as catching up with old friend’s along the journey. We met a couple of really cool chicks, Spanish tourist G and local but also well-travelled Jess. I was stoked to find out the girls also love to bike ride. We enjoyed a couple of fun days biking, surfing and a bit of a Boat party Roam style, with the uke’s, bongos, harmonicas, guitar and some sing along's, good times....

Cap's home ! enjoying a blueberry ice cream at the farmers market. Local grown blue berries.

23rd Nov Captains home. I was getting pretty excited to have Mick back on board. He flew into Sydney and Hired a car to drive down to meet us in Moruya. Arriving at one am in the morning, I woke Andy and we took the tender to shore to collect our captain. Being able to leave your home to go to work and return to it in a completely new location is pretty damn cool. Michael and Andy were able to get a few good surfs in. I captured a bit of this fun - (check out #episode3 in film section). Another trip back to the farmers market to get stocked up on fresh produce and we prepared to head further north and continue our journey up the NSW coast. Not long now until Roam has her own sails .. Next stop Aussie pipe for some barrels yewwww

Vegetable and lentil Patties

2 cups of green lentils

1 table spoon of turmeric

2 cups of grated zucchini

1 large grated carrot

1/2 a medium sized red onion diced

1 cup of rocket roughly chopped

2 eggs

1 cup of physillium husk (this helps bind the ingredients and is a great source of fiber)

1/4 cup chopped fresh herb ( I used coriander )

1 table spoon finely grated ginger

1 whole red chilli finely chopped

1 cup of shredded coconut

Method:

Cook green lentils and drain water.

prepare all fresh ingredients and put into a large mixing bowl.

add cooked lentils, and dry ingredients and eggs.

with hands combine all ingredients together and roll into small patties, set aside on a plate. You could coat them in some extra shredded coconut if you prefer crispier patties.

In a large non stick frying pan heat 1 table spoon of coconut oil on medium to high heat.

place patties in fry pan with a little bit of space between them to allow for spreading when you flatten them out. cook one side until brown and crispy then flip and cook the other. Be gentle when flipping the patties so they don't break apart before they are cooked, I used a non stick spatula to flip them.

Serve with a fresh salad and a relish, I used a pear and walnut relish I found in a deli in Paynesville , but a beetroot relish would compliment theses babies deliciously.

ENJOY xx - LISS

please let me know if you would like me to share more of my healthy creations ...